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MIT engineers are developing technology that would make creating a robot easier. Their project would let users select a robot for a specific use from a library of designs and have it built and ready to operate in a matter of hours using a specialized 3D printer. The team -- which has succeeded in building prototypes for designing and printing a robot that can be used to explore contaminated areas and a device that can pick up objects -- says the next step is to come up with a programming interface and algorithms to control the devices and new programmable materials for building them.

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Cybercriminals used infected USB devices to shut down parts of two U.S. power plants in 2012, the U.S. Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team revealed. In one case, the bug was installed during a routine software update by a third-party technician who was unaware of the bug's existence. It is not clear who created the malware or what it was designed to do, but ICS-CERT is recommending enhanced security procedures when dealing with removable media.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Bits and Atoms are pioneering a new type of shape-shifting mechanical device, based on the structure of a protein, that could one day lead to the development of more versatile robots with the ability to rearrange themselves as needed. According to MIT's Neil Gershenfeld, the "milli-motein" is "effectively a one-dimensional robot that can be made in a continuous strip, without conventionally moving parts, and then folded into arbitrary shapes."

More companies are hoping to leverage the power of social networking in the workplace by adopting enterprise collaboration tools, but at least one survey suggests employees aren't biting. A poll of 56 large businesses by software developer DachisGroup found that at most, one-fifth of workers are actively engaged in using their firm's internal social business applications -- which include forums, microblogs, activity feeds, status updates and wikis -- with IT and corporate communications leading the way as the most eager participants.

International terrorism may soon take a backseat to cybersecurity as the U.S.' top national security concern, according to FBI counterterrorism official Ralph Boelter, who says his unit is spending more time and resources preparing for a major cyber-attack. Boelter and Gordon Snow, assistant director of the FBI's cyber division, spoke at the GovSec Conference in Washington, telling attendees the U.S. needs to work harder to ensure cybersecurity in light of the growth in mobile device use, the rise of cloud computing and increased threats from state actors such as China.